Month: May 2017

Historically, circulation data and the demographic characteristics of library branch patrons have been used to analyze reading patterns and behaviors of different audiences. To date, our “Reading Chicago Reading” project has taken advantage of the circulation data we received from the Chicago Public Library and from the American Community Survey to shed light on the reception of different OBOC selections throughout diverse Chicago neighborhoods. See e.g. our earlier post.

The “One Book One Chicago” (OBOC) program has evolved since the fall of 2001, expanding and diversifying its programming around the city. As noted in an earlier post, reading the chosen OBOC book is only one kind of participation in the larger social space of engagement with literary culture.

Archiving Chicago Public Library’s One Book materials, English graduate student Mihaela Stoica has documented the great variety of OBOC-related events of the past several seasons. The main branch of the CPL holds physical files for previous OBOC seasons, with information on programming… Read more